Found: Desktop Search For Dropbox, Google Drive & Gmail Files [Mac]

With the number of cloud storage services growing constantly, it’s no surprise that your local hard drive isn’t the only place you keep some of your frequently accessed files. Services like Dropbox and Google’s recently launched Google Drive are on top of the list and both have a desktop client that makes syncing your files easier. Found is a neat little Mac app that’s free and is like Spotlight search, not just for the files on your hard drive but also for those synced to your Dropbox and Google Drive folders and your Gmail account. Mac’s Spotlight is by far a more sophisticated file search system than the simple little search feature on Windows and it certainly indexes the files and folders in Dropbox and Google Drive but what makes Found really great is that it helps you search your Gmail account. Not all files that you send or receive as attachments end up in your Google Drive, probably for good reason too, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need an efficient search tool like Found for it.

Interface wise, the app is as simple as it can get; an icon is added to the menu bar that will show/hide the search interface which you can alternately do by hitting the Control key twice. Click the little cloud button at the bottom left to add your Google Drive and Gmail account (Google accounts are supported). If you already have Dropbox installed on your Mac, the app will automatically index files in your Dropbox folder. Add your Gmail and Google Drive, and depending on the size of it, the app will index all items in it. You can now enter a search term and view results filtered by location.

It must be noted that the app will not search the content of an email message to match it with a relevant file. It searches the file name and that is what shows up in the results. Found, in addition to searching files, lets you preview them, and for files saved in Gmail (as attachments) it downloads them to your hard drive before opening them.

Found only indexes, searches and downloads files, it isn’t a file viewer and your ability to open a file on your desktop depends on the format being supported natively or having the right file viewer installed. With both Dropbox and Google Drive having a desktop client, the app is best suited as a file search utility for your email, especially if you use the default Mail app. No doubt, support for more services that don’t have a desktop client will follow. You can access Found’s preferences from the cog wheel icon at the bottom right of the interface, but there isn’t much there to change except allowing or barring the app from starting at login.

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